Thread: Best brand of tools for the price?

Tweet

I work with tools daily as a Machine Repair Tradesman at Ford Motor Co. I see Snap on crack as well as any socket being pounded with a 1 inch or 1 1/2 inch impact . I use craftsman and do i crack them oh yes . But im near a store and dont wait a week for a truck . I have seen a china socket stretch after long periods of use and never crack because of thier softer metel reciepe . Now i like the old craftsman with my oily hands they dont slip as bad as the pro series and i have a few of them . As a pro i work tools from 1/2 inch up to 6 inch sockets.

So welcome to the trade and hope you like it like most of us do .

IC2 that S-K laying in my home tool box is the one i look for mostly also. Its a tight radius and has worked so well for the last 25 years . I have the small S-K 3/4 drive set at work going up to 1 1/2 picked up used from a retirier for $25 . Your right about the craftsman rachets they are not like they were years ago . This is one area you have to move up a tool notch for some durability.

My broken new ratchet went back to Sears today - they tried to give me a scratched up 'reconditioned' replacement, which I refused. I insisted on one from the shelf as mine crapped out the very first time I tried to use it - now, as a spare, let's see how long this one lasts. Oh well, there is never much of a hassle with Crapsman tools, so as my second line, are working fine - usually

I've only had one little argument from a Sears employee one time, and I quickly extinquished it with " may I speak with the Store Manager please?" Magically, a new tool arrived in a few minutes.

Another thing I learned from working for retail chain stores is that stores HATE calls to the Corporate Office. When I worked for Boat U/S if a customer ever called headquarters we would get a call immediately with instructions to call the customer, refund the item, apologize, and give them a $ 25 gift certificate. So we made it a point to do whatever was needed to make the customer happy.

So, a few times when some store wasn't cooperating with me, I would nicely say "Oh sure, I realize you can only do so much at this level........can I get the phone number and name of your District Manager please?" Usually they get the hint and make the problem go away.

Don